1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a specimen transporter, a specimen testing system, and a specimen transporting method.
2. Description of the Related Art
A specimen creating apparatus for creating a specimen plate (hereinafter simply referred to as “specimen”) obtained by smearing a sample such as blood, or the like on a slide glass, and a specimen imaging apparatus for observing the specimen created with the specimen creating apparatus with a microscope, and imaging the specimen with a camera are conventionally known. A specimen transporter for transporting the specimen received from the specimen creating apparatus to the specimen imaging apparatus is also known.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0148046 A discloses a specimen image imaging system including a blood smear creating apparatus for storing a slide glass, smeared with blood in a cassette, and supplying a stain fluid into the cassette to create a specimen plate; a specimen image imaging apparatus for imaging the specimen plate; and a cassette transporter for transporting the cassette received from the blood smear creating apparatus to the specimen image imaging apparatus.
The cassette transporter is configured to receive the cassette in a standing state from the blood smear creating apparatus, and turn the received cassette so that a smearing surface of the specimen plate is facing upward. The specimen image imaging apparatus includes a chuck member for taking out the specimen plate arranged such that the smearing surface is facing upward from the cassette, and a transportation path for transporting the specimen plate taken out to an imaging section. The imaged specimen plate is transported by the transportation path and accommodated in a rack for accommodating plates.
In the specimen image imaging system described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0148046 A, the imaged specimen plate is transported to the plate accommodation rack in a state (horizontal posture) arranged so that the smearing surface is facing upward, and the specimen plates are accommodated so as to be lined in an up-down direction in the horizontal posture in the rack. An opening is formed at a side surface of the rack, and the specimen is placed in and taken out through the opening.
However, if an emulsion oil is used in imaging the specimen, for example, the emulsion oil that attached to the specimen may leak out to the outside of the rack when taking out the specimen plate from the rack, thus getting the periphery of the rack dirty. In this case, a step for washing the periphery of the rack may become necessary, or an emulsion oil may attach to a mechanism at the periphery of the rack, thus adversely affecting of the operation of such mechanism.